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Loading ...iMON & iMedian
thewelshbrummie
I have my iMon Ultra bay. And the time to install it.
Admitedly it’s not exactly as advertised on eBay by the seller; I had to get it from an Italian company, but translating the item condition stated that it would be a new item; which it clearly isn’t. The box, although well protected, is very battered and the plastic bag for the CD/screws/batteries clearly weren’t original and the protective plactic over the screen certainly wasn’t. There are scratches to the screen also.
But as you can’t see them when it’s powered up and it doesn’t turn off unless you unplug the mains cable or switch off the PSU with the PSU switch. And try getting hold of one; iMon Ultra bays are virtually impossible to find.
Which is why I didn’t mind paying the retail price for it.
The iMon takes power from a 24pin splitter cable. It’s not the neatest way, but it’s the only way to keep the I/R receiver on the iMon powered up to allow power-up via the remote. You also need to route the power switch cable to the iMon plug, and run the supplied cable back to the motherboard powerswitch connecter.
Which is very much like my TV card, which works in exactly the same way; except that it doesn’t need th emessy 24pin splitter… strange.
Anyway, you can connect the iMon via USB or a spare USB header. I’ve gone for the standard USB option (though need to remember to always check the USB connection, that cost me 30 minutes).
So how good is it?
It’s a fantastic piece of kit, the display is gorgeous and displays pretty much anything you could want; email; system info,;RRS feeds (user-definable); an EQ that works with iTunes, Windows Media Centre (but NOT Media Player) and the supplied iMon software; weather and more.
The iMon software really makes the unit so good. As for iMedian, I’m not so convinced; Media Centre has a nicer interface and is much easier to use. I also don’t have to reorganise my music; as all my music is sorted by folders for genre only, I can’t seem to select individual albums. So I’ll stick with Media Centre, as it more than does the job. And if you can find an Ultra Bay, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Just make sure you have 2x 5.25″ external bays to fit it to on a standard PC case; there are probably better options for Media Centre cases.
So what’s left for the build?
I STILL haven’t received my USB hub or pci card. So I’m currently running cables through the back of my computer, far from the completely self contained PC I wanted to build. I think a reorder/refund from Amazon will sort that out. I also need to decide on whether I want my TV card.
But my CPU is running nicely, so I may leave upgrading until just before Nehalem CPUs are released (as I almost certainly won’t be able to use them and may be able to take advantage of price cuts). Likewise the monitor, which can also wait until DisplayPort becomes mainstream.
Finally, I’ll need more header cables; I’ve got one for the USB ports on the KAMA panel, but I still need another to get my onboard sound to work on the KAMA panel (the Soundblaster being connected to my case fron panel).
So it’s taking shape and I’m looking forward to getting my old games running properly; I’ve now got Ubuntu 7.10, Win XP AND Win 98 all running virtually (and all except Win 98 have proper Internet access). Which makes me very happy…
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